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I took this book along on a recent vacation and was thoroughly absorbed in it. I love Cornelius Ryan's writing style. He keeps it moving and made me feel as if I was there. I can give no bigger compliment than that. I have read almost all of Stephen Ambrose's books and numerous other WWII books, I rate this book up there with them all. It is a must read for the serious WWII reader.

Not for the experienced WWII reader but a nice overview to put in your library. This book is still light reading in comparison to books like "Hells Gate"about the Cherkassy Pocket, Not the definitive book on the topic as I say but still good reference material. In the light of new material available and better divisional and unit accounts keep reading what is coming out now and build your knowledge one book at a time.

Ryan does such a superb job in knitting together the state of so many things happening in the city prior to being abandoned by its leaders and being taken by the Soviets. Mayhem, confusion, lies, and destruction abound, whilst life somehow continues for so many. This is very well researched, supported by many first hand accounts, and recounted in mesmerizing fashion. I've read Beevor's book too, "The Fall of Berlin 1945," which is also a fine account, but this one tops it.

When I first read this book 25 years ago I could barely put it down, and I've read it several more times since then. This is simply the best single title on the battle for Berlin.

Cornelius Ryan is a wonderful writer and throughout this and all of his books you can picture the events that unfold. I could not put this book down and spent several late nights because of this. I would highly recomment this book to anyone interested in history, military or otherwise. I have to say I was amazed at the service I received from Amazon.com. I ordered this book on a Sunday and received it on Tues. all the way to Cave Junction, OR. Thank you! Rudy

Excellent how so manay different events were put in such a good sequence.

This is one of the most unbelievable stories I've ever read. It's written with superb simplicity, making it a rapid and engrossing page turner. What a great gift Bardach has given us in writing this book about his horrific and heroic experiences. This is the best account of any world war 2 camp survivor, period. He clearly illustrates that the Soviet Union was about as horrible a place to be as Europe at the time. The book is as well written as the story is interesting. Fantastic. Thank you, Janusz!

I read this after reading The Unquiet Ghost: Russians Remember Stalin. This book may be bleak and shocking, but remember, the author survived! It is an amazing, gripping, shocking story about humanity. I loved it.

The most important thing that I gained by reading Janusz Bardach's book is that the will to survive is as important as food when it come to survival. More times that he imagined, he survived because he felt that he would, like he had a special angel or just more "good luck" than other people. It doesn't matter if it's true, it only matters that you believe it.

Luck is also helped by brashness and the will to succeed. His story about becoming a medical assistant, though he had absolutely no formal training, reminds me of Solsenitsyn's tale of how he survived the Gulag by lying about having training as a nuclear engineer. It's the ability to adapt that keeps you alive. Goebbels said that if you told a big enough lie enough times, people would begin to believe it. The only way to survive in the Gulag was to lie to yourself and everyone else.

Since so many of the NKVD were corrupt and brutal, the only way to survive in there world was to also appear to be corrupt. Stalin sent so many of the NKVD and those who worked for them to prison, that they were well cared for by their ex-comrades, because they knew they had a good chance of joining them. Who could survive better in a criminal state within a state then a criminal?

This is a story of hope without all the 'hearts and flowers'. It just the true story of what went on, warts and all (lots of warts).

I can't really say anything that hasn't been mentioned already, and I think that it would be inappropriate to give away any of the plot.

This is simply the most fascinating story of survival of any that I have ever seen. It is incredible as well as inspiring. It teaches you to value your life, and the relationships that you have with the people you care about most. There were so many instances when he could have resigned to his fate and accepted death, but instead he kept going. Millions of people died in prison camps during the war, and unfortunately all of their stories cannot be told. But to understand what they had to go through in their fight for survival, nothing beats this book. Besides telling his story, it examines the history and psychology behind what happened to him. And overall I believe that it is a valuable read for anyone interested in Russian Gulags or prison camps in general during WW2.

Janusz Bardach, who became a plastic surgeon in Iowa City, Iowa in 1972, recounts his experiences in the Gulag in this bleak tale of survival reminiscent of Solzhenitsyn's The Gulag Archipelago. A secular Jewish man and supporter of Stalin and communism living in Poland In 1939, he and his family fear their future as Germany's military forces are set up along the border. He is eventually drafted into the Red Army, but when he inadvertently gets his new tank stuck in a river, he's arrested and given a sentence of 10 years of hard labor. He, like the other prisoners, spends most of his time working to meet ridiculously high work quotas, while in a constant state of starvation. He travels from camp to camp during his six years in captivity working in various work situations including a mine, the forest felling trees, and as a medical assistant working with tuberculosis patients (which he eventually contracts). Once he recovers, he's sent to work in a psych ward, where the main focus is exposing the "fakers," those trying to get out of work. His job is to inject them with a seizure-inducing drug, which he does reluctantly. With a little help from his one surviving family member, Polish army officer brother, he is eventually released and finds out the fate of his grandparents, parents, sister and girlfriend. They were all executed.

This is an autobiographic look at the war experience of a lieutenant of paratroopers serving in World War II in the famed 82d Airborne Division. In this book, author James Megellas (a/k/a "Maggie") tells us the story of intense and almost continuous combat beginning in North Africa, continuing in Italy, and finally D-Day and the invasion of Western Europe. The author explains that his "MOS" (Military Occupational Specialty) was simply to "Kill Germans" and that this was the real, if unofficial, job description of himself and his men. The author makes no bones about the merciless nature of the war. Prisoners were sometimes shot by both sides, and to say that there were hard feelings is an understatement. This was a rough war against a competent enemy who inflicted terrible casualties on allied soldiers, who in turn gave even better than they got.

Magellas' observations and opinions about rear-echelon soldiers, and the psychology of the higher-ups who did little or no actual fighting, ring true. He notes that it was the captains and lieutenants who really functioned as "leaders" of combat troops, and it was pretty obvious that Magellas was less than impressed with much of the upper brass. The British brass comes in for particularly harsh criticism in the context of the failure of Montgomery's Operation Market-Garden. Magellas also relates an astonishing incident in which British armor refused to advance to relieve besieged units of British paratroopers, which shirking allowed the Germans to massacre them. The author takes the trouble to say that he "personally witnessed this incident...."

Books like this remind us in this time of relative peace (notwithstanding the very real fighting that goes on in the present day) the tremendous debt that all of us owe to those who endured unspeakable danger and hardships to bring down Nazi Germany. Need I add that it is a reminder of the debt that we all owe to the soldiers, sailors, marines, and airmen who are serving America in the present day. This is a well-written and lucid account of combat by an intelligent and brilliant soldier.

It's a bit troubling to see a couple of reviewers here complaining about Jim "Maggie" Megellas being "self-serving" and a "blowhard" because he's honest about the 82nd Airborne Division's WWII mission. That mission was to kill Germans and win the war. Maggie was very good at this as was his platoon, the 504 PIR and the 82nd, the greatest Airborne division of all. How else were we to win the war?

"All the Way to Berlin" is the best Airborne book I've read and I've read a lot of them including S. Ambrose's "Band of Brothers". I've never understood why Ambrose, who taught at the University of Wisconsin passed up Wisconsin's greatest Airborne hero, Jim Megellas.

Not to take anything away from the 101st Airborne, another bunch of terrific, fighting paratroopers, but no one fought harder and longer with less against formidable opposition than the 82nd. And within the 82nd, the 504PIR, 3rd BN, H Company was one of the best.

My friend Bill Hannigan from St. Paul went all the way from Africa to Berlin with the 82nd. He became a squad leader in Maggie's platoon and is one of those paratroopers who knows Maggie best. Bill says Maggie was not only the best and bravest at killing Germans. "He cared about all of us. He did things for us. He's been a good man all his life."

Bill is one of the dwindling numbers of Maggie's platoon who continues to work for the Medal of Honor which Maggie was originally put in for after his heroism at Herresbach. The platoon killed and captured 100's of Germans during that battle and as they moved into the town, Maggie single-handedly attacked and took out a Mark IV tank that threatened his platoon. This part of the action was somehow deleted from the paperwork as it moved through channels. Maggie then received the Silver Star instead of the requested MOH. Several years ago, Maggie's platoon friends resurrected the original MOH request and it is now the subject of a bill in the House of Representatives.

Next month, Maggie - who is now 90 - starts a tour in Iraq where he will begin to deliver thousands of his books to the troops. Last year he visited his beloved 504 in Afghanistan where the troopers gave him and AR and 50 rounds of ammo and took him on patrol.

You will see in this great book how Maggie holds paratroopers in special regard. And if you understand paratroopers and the famed 82nd Airborne Division you will know why we love Maggie and this book about our WWII Brothers.

Tom Laney, Editor
Badger Airborne News
Badger State Chapter
82nd Airborne Division Assoc.

After reading several reviews about this book, I felt compelled to comment.

I read Mr. Megellas' book after having the pleasure and honor of meeting him in the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport. It was a real treat for me to have the opportunity shake his hand and talk with him for a few minutes. As time rolls on, opportunities to meet a veteran, much less a hero of World War II are few and far between. We talked a bit about Operation Market Garden and his plans to go to Holland. I can tell you that in my brief encounter with him that he was very proud, humble and personable.

With that said, I think that the critic's who accuse Mr. Megellas of being self-serving are very wrong in their assessment. This book is written in a style that is very direct, blunt, straight forward and "matter of fact". There are no words wasted beating around the bush or attempts at being politically correct. By his own accord, the author admits to us that it has taken him years to write these words because they are so painful to repeat. I do not get the sense that he is bragging. I get the sense that he is sharing his pain with the reader and giving us his impression of the unbelievable experience he lived through. It goes without saying this man is a hero.

This book is an excellent read and I would recommend it to anyone even remotely interested in World War 2 or combat. It's so packed full of action I can't believe they haven't made a movie about it.

One of the best combat narratives I have ever read. Engrossing, and compelling in its brutaly honest depiction of total warfare. Highly recomended.

If anyone has read Band of Brothers as well as other war books, you will notice that James Megellas has been a resource for many. This book is a must read for anyone that enjoys War books. The book might not be elegantly written but you have to remember that this was written by a person that was there and not by some author embellishing the facts trying to make it a sexy book. Every once in a while I find myself picking the book up to re-read it.

Last Days of the Incas is a splendid book, a complex story well told. Readable and compelling. What I particularly enjoyed: bookending the narrative of fall of the Inca empire with the 20th century hunt for Machu Picchu, Vilcabama, and other Inca sites; inspired comparisons, such as between Wall Street IPOs and conquest expeditions; observations from Machiavelli in the chapter headings, a reminder of how timeless is the tale of an empire's self-destruction.

Dan

What to say about a thoroughly riveting author and subject?! I recently returned from a trip to Peru, having read most of the popular tomes about the Incas. However, I was unlucky enough to have missed this book before I left. Though I enjoy reading history a great deal, I was unprepared for the depth of detail about the "conquest of
the Incas" contained in this book. It could have been presented in a dry manner, but I found myself unable to stop until I had spent an entire day reading the book in its entirety. The author has a very engaging style --- this book read like the best of adventure fiction. If you are considering a trip to the Cuzco/Lima areas, read this book beforehand and take it along! Being able to read his analysis of the battles near Cuzco while actually on-site would be fascinating. I cannot recommend this book more highly.

MacQuarrie delivers one of the best Historical Narratives you will read. The subject matter is very interesting: the Incan Empire 10 million strong being conquered by a Spanish force of less than 200 men - albeit men on horses with superior military technology. But, the thing that sets this book appart is the way the story is told. That's what I mean about this book being a great historical narrative. The author does a masterful job at just telling the story of the Spanish conquest over the Incan empire. MacQuarrie is a masterful story teller!

Kim MacQuarrie has created a vivid and fascinating portrayal of the well-known historical events that followed Francisco Pizarro's fateful arrival in Peru. The retelling is even-handed and well-researched, drawing upon a wide variety of sources from both Inca and Spaniard alike.

Impressively, MacQuarrie successfully makes the book accessible and entertaining, without sacrificing accuracy in scholarship. The details that greatly enrich the drama of the story are judiciously chosen, and it is clear that MacQuarrie goes to great lengths to strike an appropriate balance between historical fidelity and compelling storytelling.

I strongly recommend this book for anyone with an interest in the tumultuous history of Peru. However, I especially encourage once and future visitors of Cusco and the Sacred Valley to read it. The book provides a fascinating back story that greatly deepens one's appreciation for the magnificent and mysterious ruins of Sacsayhuaman, Ollantaytambo, and other Incan sites.

Although I had read several other accounts of the conquest of the Incas, this one is probably the best. It is hard to put down. Starting with Hiram Bingham and ending with him and the several other explorers of the Antisuyu, the author weaves his account of the downfall of the Incas with skill. I had not realized that so many historical records from that time period were available. Evidently much more is available on Pizarro and his conquest than on Cortez and his. Some of the 16th century documents were discovered only relatively recently and were not available to chroniclers such as William Prescott. If you have already read the story of the Incas, you will not be disappointed in reading about them again. One wonders what might have been if Pizarro's small band had been wiped out before capturing Atahualpa.

Reading this book you can vicariously experience what it was like to spend time in the Stalin prison camps. For me this book rounded out the picture I had from reading the Gulag Archipelago. The book is educational, easy to read, and enjoyable reading.

I think Solzhenitsyn wrote about the following also. I quote from the Ginzburg book: "When a human being is isolated ... he achieves a kind of spiritual serenity" and "...especially solitary confinement, ennobled and purified human beings, bringing to the surface their finest qualities, however deeply hidden". For some time now I have thought that violent criminals should be put into solitary confinement and not permitted to communicate with others. Instead of mollycoddling these perpetrators of evil, they need to be forced to ponder at length about what they have done. I think if anything could do so, solitary confinement might ~rehabilitate~ them. I know Ginzburg and Solzhenitsyn were not violent criminals but I think it worthwhile to try to extrapolate from their experience.

This is a book I probably wouldn't have read at all, but it was a book club selection at our local university, Ferris State. Considering the awful and primitive conditions of Ginzburg's 20-year ordeal, the writing is very genteel, and even peppered with quotations from various Soviet poets and writers, and even some original verse from the author herself, which she composed to break the monotony and dreariness of her two years of solitary. The 18 yrs she spent subsequently in the Siberian labor camps of the Stalinist era is given less attention, but the horrors and the dangers - of starvation, rape and all manner of brutalizations - are made clear enough. I found it odd, and surprisingly refreshing, that, in spite of its subject, the language of the book remains G-rated, perhaps because of when the book was written (first published in 1967), but more probably because it is, as Ginzburg states at the close of her narrative, "the story of an ordinary Communist woman during the period of the 'personality cult'." There is nothing ordinary about Eugenia Ginzburg though; to pampered westerners like us, her story is nothing short of extraordinary. She survived several brushes with death and remained a loyal Communist, living into her 80s. - Tim Bazzett, author of Love, War & Polio

The mindset and belief system of the early Soviet Union, as defined by the Bolsheviks' neurotic obsession with the ideals of perpetual revolution and the existence of nigh-infinite capitalist and ideological foes that constantly threatened the continued subsistence of the Soviet entity, cannot realistically be classed as rational or conducive to internal stability; with nervous eyes turned forever to the capitalist West, it was only a matter of time before terror of internal enemies gripped the Soviet hierarchy. When, in 1934, Sergey Kirov, a top Party official in Leningrad, was assassinated under dubious and mysterious circumstances, Josef Stalin, then leader of the Soviet Union, took advantage of the killing in order to brew an intense horror in the hearts of the Russian people; no longer simply assailed by their external Capitalist foes, Stalin led the people to believe that they were also threatened by more dangerous enemies with the Communist Party itself. Using the killing of Kirov and the ideal of internal foes, Stalin was able to launch a brutal and hideous campaign to eliminate dissenters with the Party, while numerous innocent Party members found their lives obliterated as they were caught in what has become known as the "Great Purge." First thrown out of the Party on charges most often both false and ludicrous, these unfortunate souls then found themselves jailed under horrific circumstances, many being sent to perish in labor camps in remote Siberia; by the time of Stalin's death, roughly 5 million Party members had been detained in such a way. Eugenia Ginzburg, an editor for a newspaper in Kazan, was one such victim of Stalin's senseless purges; arrested in 1937 following years of police harassment, Ginzburg was sent to numerous prisons where she endured abysmal treatment before finally being detained in Siberia until 1953. In documenting her horrific ordeal, Ginzburg amply addressed not only the confusion of the purges and the inhumanity of the prisons, but also explored the sheer motivating power of fear in the actions of all classes and ranks; irrational fear, it is shown, was what ultimately fueled the escalating madness and accusations, and destroyed forever the lives of so many.
At the time of Kirov's assassination, Eugenia Ginzburg was leading a successful life as a member of the Communist Party, even marrying a top Communist official of Kazan. As she so eloquently and persistently notes throughout the account of her struggles, Ginzburg was nothing save a loyal and dedicated Communist, adhering to and accepting the Party's line of policy. Such an upstanding member of society surely could not have been dragged into the insanity of the purges, yet she was; although she amply demonstrates her loyalty to the Party and complies fully with her early accusers, vying to convince them of her ideological orthodoxy, she is nonetheless made the recipient of increasingly outlandish charges. This is pivotal, as the reader begins to understand all along that the purges were not, as popular rhetoric espoused, an attack upon dissenting and criminal elements within the party, but a monstrous, all-consuming, bloodletting of the entire Party in which any and all could become victims; even the officials that prosecuted the accused and the guards who abused them often found themselves becoming victims themselves and sharing prisons with those they had wrongly imprisoned. Even the wife who, out of blind loyalty to the Party, denounces her husband when he is arrested as a traitor is herself later accused and jailed. Similarly disturbing is the fact that mere association, however indirect, with anyone suspected of being a traitor was enough to end one's life and lead to one's arrest; Ginzburg's brief association with Elvov, who was himself wrongly accused of treachery, was the key factor in her expulsion from the Party and subsequent sufferings. As such accusations by association continued, the purges assumed the heir and hysteria of a witch hunt, with friend turning against friend in desperate self-preservation; Ginzburg is herself forced to endure the treachery of one of her greatest friends, who under pressure and in looking after her own interests validates the charges leveled against Ginzburg. It is perhaps one of Ginzburg's most admirable qualities to never herself accuse any innocents in the way she was denounced. Gripped by such extreme levels of terror and paranoia, the Communist Party simply turned its aggressions upon itself, fueling a terrible madness that only grew in intensity and senselessness the longer it continued. Indeed, these purges served only to weaken the Communist party, greatly harm the economy and agriculture, and, more vitally, to drive away potential members who were horrified at the thought of being caught in the killings. Far from strengthening the Party by eliminating its enemies, Stalins purges only weakened it and left it with a cloying odor of death and suspicion. The pervasive influence of fear is evident throughout the account, and it is quite apparent the even the most vile interrogators or guards likely act as they do out of fear for their own lives, often to no avail. So it was that Stalin's terrorism against his own people drove those within his own government to new heights of irrationality, cruelty, and falseness.
In detailing her early troubles before her arrest, Ginzburg, despite her continued assertions of loyalty and railings against the absurdity of the suspicion laid upon her, is accused of increasingly severe charges ranging from "lack of vigilance" to a later accusation of being the ringleader of a terrorist network; yet all the while Ginzburg remains devoted to the Party, refusing the advice of her mother and friends to flee, desperately believing that she could clear her name through the legal practice. This naivety, or refusal to recognize the reality of the situation or to see fault with the Party, led ultimately to Ginzburg's travails; most commonly, those wrongly accused believed their case merely to be a correctable mistake, while the innumerable others locked away must surely have been truly guilty. In her continued astonishment at the absurdity and irrationality of the process of the purges, Gunzburg vividly illustrates the clash of a ration mind with an inherently irrational and violent system. The level of ignorance toward the intent of the purges is perhaps best illustrated when Ginzburg learns that the vans she sees throughout city do not carry milk as he had believed, but instead contained prisoners; the unwillingness to see or believe in impending doom led many to their demise in this period. Even Ginzburg's disdain for Stalin, the worship of whom by the persons around him genuinely disturbing her, was not enough to overcome her deadly faith in the Party.
Of particular note throughout Ginzburg's account is the juxtaposition of the illegal and immoral force, coercion, and violence of the purges with the absurd pursuit of legality by the interrogators. Although the interrogators and other accusers know the charges leveled again those such as Ginzburg are false, or that their "confessions" are similarly falsified, they nonetheless insist upon obtaining real signatures for said false documents. When the prisoners refuse, they are subjected to various forms of physical and mental abuse, ranging from extended periods of intense interrogation with food or rest to more wrenching mentions of the prisoners' families. Many interrogators work themselves into murderous rages in pursuit of signatures for their false confessions, perhaps out of fear of not obtaining them or out of sheer contradictory nature. One cannot but be amazed at the level of bureaucratization of the purges, an essentially illogical and illegal proceeding; like the Holocaust, it is disturbingly evident that the central government held no reservations for their actions, nor any desire to bury them away. It is the ability to carry on such an open and grand persecution that perhaps best illustrates Stalin's immense dominion at the time, a dominion he gained through overt terror such as that which Ginzburg encounters.
Although Ginzburg wrote her account of her imprisonment and travails, during which she learned that relationships formed in such horrific circumstances often proved closer than any others and that when reduced to such a state all people must be accepted, her memory of complex events and names astounds the reader; names of those that Ginzburg only ephemerally interacted with decades ago are still fresh in her mind, as are conversations and poems. One may deduce that such extreme and trying events as those experienced by Ginzburg indelibly imprint themselves upon the mind forever, as evidenced the Ginzburg's ability to produce entire sections of books from her mind at command; one could simply never forget such vivid suffering or trial. That, then, is the most important aspect of Ginzburg's account. The Soviet purges, a terrible period of internal destruction and death on a massive scale, is here presented in all its horror and grittiness from the perspective of one who endured them personally; in this way, such a monstrous and massive event becomes personal, thus far more moving and instructional.

This was a very good book, one of the best I had read about people sentenced to prison. Most of the books in this genre have been written by men, it was nice to see Eugenia Ginzburg give a woman's perspective. She tells a very touching tale & every page you feel closer to this brave / intelligent woman. The Gulag Archipelago by Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn was the most recent book I have read on the same topic. This is also a very good book but I would say I preferred "Journey into the Whirlwind" a little more just because it was one person's personal tale & I think her translator did a very good book translating this book into English.

I did have a few minor questions & if you haven't read this book you may want to stop reading here ....

What I wanted to know as I was reading the book & never did find out by the end of the story was : 1) She mentions her husband countless times through the book but you never find out what happens to him. 2) She has two children that she is separated from while they are young - you never do hear what happens to them & how they get together (if they do). She does mention in the epilogue that she wrote things intending to give them to her grandchildren so I assume she gets reunited with her children & lives to see her grandchildren. 3) She is sentenced to a 10 term & 417 out of 418 pages total are dedicated to her first three years in captivity - the last page is an epilogue that says she ended up serving 18 years in total. It doesn't say why she ended up serving 8 extra years & really 15 of her 18 years in captivity aren't even mentioned in the story.

If you haven't read this book don't let these last few points stop you from reading her story - you would be missing out on a great read.

This book reminded me of Holocaust accounts and the novel 1984, but it surpassed both of them in terms of what humanity is capable of. It is simply unthinkable that Ginzburg could be put into jail and tortured by the party that she was devoutly loyal to, and that she could hold out hope and stick to her moral values for so long. The stories of some of the prisoners are heart wrenching- escaping the Gestapo only to be sent to the gulag, or having your son raised essentially his entire life in jail after jail. This memoir illustrates the whole range of human capability from the evil party leaders, the spiteful accusers (life-ruiners), the brainwashed party followers, and the disillusioned survivors.

Jacky Faber, fresh off a very famous whaling ship, goes to meet her beloved Jaimy, but sees him with another woman. Jumping to conclusions, she runs off and suddenly finds herself pressed back into the King's service aboard a ship under a cruel and mad captain that threatens Jacky's honor. Jacky's wit and sea knowledge and ability to gain the respect and admiration of her fellow seamen soon causes her to become captain of the ship. Jacky's adventures take her on a dangerous journey, dealing with spies and even a price on her head for piracy. Jacky, as always, must deal with being a woman in a world that grants her very little respect, freedom, or power, but constantly threatens her. It is an older, wiser, wilder, and more hardened and lonely Jacky that we meet in this book, as she has been burned in love, swears off all men, but surrounds herself with them. But it is still the wonderfully complex, strong, fierce heroine that we all love and admire. This book is one of the strongest in a perfect series full of high adventure, complex and loveable characters, and a detailed and beautiful historical landscape. Jacky's wonderful voice and the author's daring, unabashed look at her world and her dangers makes this a fantastic read for adults as well as older teenagers. Grade: A+

The best one yet! Jacky Faber gets herself into the craziest most exciting adventures in this one. I loved it!

This novel is the best that i have read so far.

When i first read the Curse of the Blue Tatto, I thought it was going to be one of those books where you had to put it down every 5 seconds so you don't die from boredom. But it was just the oppsite and for the Jolly Roger one it was even better. It had action through out the book and was really interesting. I especially liked the part where they had the big war. It was kind of like the last part of the movie "Pirates of the Caribbean 3' but better. The English slangs were sometimes annoying but it really gave me an idea of how Jacky talked.

I have to say this on had a lot of adult content thingys then the other ones but oh well it's still good

-Andrew Yoo

Under the Jolly Roger is my favorite bloody jack book yet! It has pirate adventure, romance and everything else a good adventure needs to have. The plot is she leaves Boston and goes to find her love Jaimy. When she finds him he is with some other girl. Then she gets taken by a naval press gain. The next thing that she knows the captain of the wolverine wants her in his bed! She goes and does what she does best; get in trouble and this time with all of England!

It's a fun fast paced book that I could not get my nose out of. I have read all of the Bloody Jack books and this one by far is the best. I can't wait for the 6th book to come out in September. If you are looking for a good pirate books then I would defiantly put this on you list!

Under the Jolly Roger was the third in the series of the adventures of Jacky Faber, authored by L.A.Meyer. I'm looking forward to reading the remaining books in Mr. Meyer's series. Although these books are recommended for young adults, as a "senior citizen", I have been pleasantly pleased with the three books I have read in this series. I enjoy historical fiction, and learned much about sailing in Europe in the early 1800's. The author certainly imparts a good sense of humor in his main character, Jacky Faber. As long as Mr.Meyer continues writing new novels in this series, I will definitely continue reading these delightful adventures of Jacky Faber.

If I had to pick my favorite biography of all time, this would be it. It has of course as it's subject one of the most fasinating figures of all time. Although Winston is known primarally for his stand aganist Hitler, Manchester's book makes us realize that even if World War 2 had never occured he would still have expericenced one the most action filled and important lives of the twentith century. And Manchester has a real gift for making the past come alive. His masterful use of telling detals gives an almost tactial sense of what life must have been like in the Victorian and Edwarian ages. And there's another reason why the book is special. One of the themes is how often Churchill was mistunderstood and deried for his actions. He was widely blammed for the Gallilopi affare, for example, but the book makes clear that he had little to do with that misadventure. And there were many other episodes where he was villified and unfairly pillored. And I think that is someting we can all understand and identify with. Doesn't everyone at time feel thaat our actions,indeed our very selves are not understood by others? Winston suffered through this many times in his life, yet he remained true to him, his values, and his vision. Reading this book can give you courage.

The wonder of the Internet. I googled the New York Times Book Review of the Last Lion, Winston Spencer Churchill Visions of Glory written by William Manchester. What I read of this review dated May 25, 1983 rather stunned me. Ms. Michiko Kakutani wrote a very critical and to my way of thinking pedestrian review. I am currently a subscriber to this paper and read the New York Times Book Review faithfully every week. Good thing I was in Cleveland at this time and never read this review.
I read this book back in 2003 with only a cursory knowledge of Winston Churchill. I learned many things which included a rather hard childhood in a privileged family of aristocracy. Randolph Churchill married Jenny Jerome of America in 1874. Winston Spencer Leonard Churchill was born on November 30, 1874. God help us all!
William Manchester writes a splendid review of the life and times of Winston Churchill. His due diligence as to the historical narrative is indeed grand. The letters of Churchill to his parents when he matriculated at Harrow are priceless.
Manchester describes all from Churchill's years at Sandhurst to his excursions to the U.S.A. and Canada. From his service in the Calvary in Africa, India and onto the Boer War, Winston was indeed there on the ground.
His consistent promotion by his mother after his father's death is fully described. Also detailed is a life in upper class Victorian England. Ms. Kakutani thought that Manchester really had no concept of English life during this time frame. Oh really?!! Just what makes a 28 year old Japanese American journalist an expert on Victorian England? I found Manchester's descriptions and historical narrative of this time frame in Winston's life informative and entertaining. Martin Gilbert's narrative was informative and true but it lacked the style of Manchester's writing.
Manchester covers Winston's entry into the House of Commons and the offices he held in high government before during and after World I. This book represents Winston's first 58 years of life. Manchester has written a classic. Unfortunately he will not complete the full life of Mr. Churchill. His second book will cover his Wilderness Years through to the start of the Second World War. He never could finish the third book. I find Manchester's biography more interesting and informative than Martin Gilbert's "Churchill a Life". So Ms. Michiko Kakutani what do you think about them apples?

well this is the first book i read on winston churchill . bought it in 1983 . the foreword is unforgettable but historical mistakes in it makes this work not the very best on the luife of sir winston. great prose nevetheless.same can be said of book number two.

This is a truly *massive* work, equal parts scholarship and artistry. Though volume one runs close to a thousand pages (counting notes, sources, etc.), I finished reading it this afternoon after an off-and-on reading of about two weeks, and it just flew by. Manchester crafted this with such precision care that I fell into the narrative from page one.

The greatest strength of the book itself-- aside from it's subject-- is Manchester's gift of narrative. WC was the quintessential Victorian, as Manchester points out time and again throughout both volumes. It is only appropriate, then, that the author should give some feel of what it was like to live in the British Empire at the time of Queen Victoria. Some of the very best passages, in my opinion, deal with life during the last quarter-century of Victoria's reign. These are not mere digressions. These fascinating glimpses into WC's era help the reader to better understand Churchill himself, who was born a Victorian and remained one to his dying day.

Manchester provides insight into British colonial administration, life in the British Raj at the end of the 19th century, and the upper class's attitudes toward sexuality and marriage. While this is fascinating in itself, Manchester goes even further and weaves a vivid tapestry of politics, history, and culture through his use of personal correspondence. It is his exhaustive use of personal correspondence-- between WC and his parents, WC and his wife and children, WC and Members of Parliament, and between all sorts of people talking about Churchill and the events in which he was caught up--- that this gives Manchester's work the feeling, not of history or even biography, but of a life too large to have been lived by one man.

Manchester is one of those writers who appears unable to disappoint. This is a book to be read and savored. For years, it sat on my shelf - I saw as a large undertaking that I wanted to do right.

The book has a very interesting structure. First, it begins with a kind of interpretive introduction to the man, vividly characterizing him while also evaluating his strengths as a man of history and his glaring weaknesses. You see him, worts and all, and it is both funny and enlightening. The psychological depth is virtually unprecedented in any other bio I have read. Second, you get a view both into his milieu - as an aristocrat of talent and privilege in Victorian Britain - and a biography of both of his parents. This is crucially important, as we come to see Churchill as an anachronism, but also as a boy neglected by narcissistic parents. (Interestingly, the absence of one or both parents is a common trait in extraordinary achievers.) Third, you get his life story, more from the events he was involved in than as an intimate portrait, though much of his personal life is covered. Indeed, he used action as the most effective tonic against depression.

The man that emerges is flawed and complex, but evidently a political genius. In my view, the key to his character is that he remained a Victorian gentleman, who viewed martial valor as the greatest source of meaning and glory in life. This suited him to titanic struggles, such as the one he faced with Hitler that places him in the ranks of the greatest historical figures. As an egotist, he always wanted to place himself at the center of events and yet did so with courage and tenacity in spite of his physical weaknesses. When out of power, he exercised other gifts, such as writing, with equal talent and energy.

Nonetheless, Manchester proves that Churchill was not a politician deeply in touch with his constituency: he never developed a typical base of power and often his views did not synch with the mainstream. Without Hitler, his hour might never have arrived: this duality is a theme that runs through the entire book.

If there is any flaw here, it is that Manchester includes a plethora of detail, not only about world events but in Churchill's political maneuverings. Normally, I delight in these details, if I know there is a purpose to all of it, which I did not always sense in this book. (Here a comparison with Robert Caro is instructive: you always know where he is going and why.) Others may see it differently, of course. Also, many of the historical details I already knew, so did not need Manchester's wordy introductions, but they were useful in the many cases of which I was ignorant.

All in all, this is one of the most engrossing and fascinating bios I have ever read. Warmly recommended.

Like the other books of his I've read (Black Book -- really great book), this book manages to be extremely factual yet at the same time emotionally gripping. Grossman's reporting narrative puts you in the time and the place and gives a strong sense of what it was like to be there - the senses, the feelings, the despair, the players, the impact to real people. If you are interested in the Soviet side of the war, or WW2 in general, this is a must read.

Grossman, most famous for his Tolstoyan work, 'Life and Fate' was, first and foremost, a journalist. He spent the majority of the Second World War on the front lines, witnessing some of the most violent confrontations of the war. He was in Stalingrad, widely acknowledged as the bloodiest battle in history. He was at Kursk, the major tank battle of the war and the military turning point-Stalingrad being the psychologic hinge-of-fate for Nazi Germany's imperialistic and ideological ambitions. He was at Treblinka during it's liberation and in Berlin during the final death-throes of the Nazi beast. In other words, he was an eye-witness to all the major events on the Eastern Front.

This book, cleverly and unobtrusively edited and translated by Vinogradova and Beevor excerpt relevant segments from Grossman's diaries. These wartime diaries were kept at great personal risk, since such activities were prohibited by the Stalin government. While many of the depictions of the attitudes and behaviors of Soviet soldiers seem redolant of 'socialist realist' propaganda, the descriptions of Treblinka and the author's sentient observations on Soviet military men are obviously the product of a gifted writer and psychologist.

The reader should recall that these diary entries were not intended for publication but rather were kept by Grossman to provide source material for future literary efforts. Unfortunately, Grossman fell afoul of Stalin, largely for his efforts to publicize the fate of Jews at the hands of the Nazis and secondarily for failing to sufficiently promote the role of Stalin's leadership and the Party in the Battle of Stalingrad. As a result, 'Life and Fate' was only published posthumously and stomach cancer claimed the author's life before much of the raw materials presented in this book could be crafted into a final literary effort. Any serious student of WW-II should read this book, as it is a major contribution to understanding the Soviet perspective on the 'Great Patriotic War'.

Vasili Semenovich Grossman was a decorated Soviet military journalist best known in the West for his epic novel, Life and Fate (New York Review Books Classics). In 'A Writer at War' editors and translators Anthony Beevor (Stalingrad: The Fateful Siege: 1942-1943), an esteemed historian and author in his own right, and Luba Vinogradova, follow Grossman's progression through the war by piecing together stories from his notebooks and writings. At times one would have liked a bit more context to be provided by Beevor, but that is a minor quibble.

Grossman, while still a loyal Communist at this point, managed to maintain a relatively objective viewpoint. He often pushed his editors to allow him to write stories they did not want written, in particular regarding the fate of the Jews in the Ukraine under German occupation and the role of the Ukrainians.

While at time the stories have to be stitched together from bits and pieces, `A Writer at War' is a gold mine and provides a rare view into the inner workings of the Soviet military and Soviet military journalism in particular. Grossman experienced the initial German onslaught and the Russian flight from it, Stalingrad, the tank battle at Kursk, and the death camps. The book includes an extensive article on the workings of the German death camp Treblinka. Earns the highest recommendation.

I'm very glad I've read this book, because it is truly one of the greatest, if not the greatest eye-witness account of the war on the eastern front. The chapter about the liberation of Dachau and the writer's thoughts about the Holocaust made me shiver, I've read dozens of books on the Holocaust but nobody ever put it to paper like Vassily did. If you haven't read this book, please do. You will never forget it.

Parragraphs of intense live experiences on the Eastern Front are interspersed with the introduction and analyses of historian Mr. Beevor. If it had been in a linear sort of narrative, so we could feel the progression of the drama, and we could get used to the comings and goings of our narrator, it would have been a great book. But we have only scattered pieces, fading images of a soul soaked in the pain of war, glimpses of horrors witnessed and stories that remain untold.

It's what it hints at that gives it its precious value: the authenticity and honesty of the man, Grossman. But it lacks a linear storytelling; it leaves a chaotic impression of imprecise locations and hard-to-pronounce names. I'm the first to be sorry about this impression, nevertheless it is what it is. I would have packed the best passages into a short book, made it more concise and more precise.

My grandfather served with the Devils Brigade, and since knowing that I wanted to learn more about this extraordinary elite unit of WWII. What I found was perhaps one of the best oral recount's of one of the finest units to ever exist. Having grown up in East Helena (3 miles east of Helena, Montana) and working at one point out at Ft. William Henry Harrison, this book gave me a new found respect for my grandfather and the great men who served in the First Special Service Force. Having finished the book I passed it on to my grandfather and he couldn't let it go. Driving by Memorial Park in Helena and watching the American and Canadian Flags both flying next to the First Special Service Force memorial, day and night, 365 days a year, I can't help but utter a simple, "thank you" everytime I go past it to those that are still living and those that perished for the freedom they helped provide for both countries.

I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants a greater depth of knowledge of this elite unit, or for the military buffs who wish to learn about or learn more of this outstanding unit!

My grandpa happened to pass away about 6 years ago, and he happened to be a part of the Black Devil Brigade. His accounts are in this book, his name is Fred Hubbard, and throughout the book he moves from a 2nd LT to a Captain. The funny thing is, I married a man who just commissioned into the army as a 2nd LT. and will soon be deploying. It is amazing to hear the story of what my grandfather when through captured in a book. The things these men endured for our freedom will always amaze me. I will always wish that I spent more time picking my grandpas brain while he was alive, but I am thankful to have this book to remember these things. This book really captures the essence of what these men went through, and what began what is the special forces today.

Hats off to Joe Springer....! He did the men of 5-2 and the FSSF an honor. My father was a Lieutenant in 5-2 FSSF and one of the main characters of the book, and Joe's Uncle was one of my father's NCO's who was KIA on Anzio. The personal accounts in the book may sound far fetched and exaggerated. However, this is far from the truth. The exploits of the men of the FSSF are a matter of record. Every man who served in the FSSF is a very unique individual. I got to know many of these gentlemen over the years by attending the annual FSSF reunions. And yes, what an honor and a privilege to just meet and speak with them about WWII and life in general. Every man in the FSSF willingly, and knowingly volunteered to join a unit where the odds of being accepted in the unit is less than 20%, and your chances for survival were even less. Thank You Joe for getting my father to open up regarding his experiences during WWII for your book. It also meant so much to him to honor the men in his command who were taken, that were not only soldiers/warriors, but true friends forever.

TAKE ABOUT FIFTY AMERICAN AND CANADIAN WORLD WAR TWO COMBAT VETERANS THAT WILLINGLY VOLUNTEER FOR A WINTER SUICIDE MISSION BEHIND GERMAN LINES. THEY ALL HAVE KNOWLEDGE OF EXPLOSIVES, THEY ARE SKIERS, PARATROOPERS, AND ARE EXPERT SHOOTERS. THEY BECOME THE BEST TRAINED AND HIGHLY MOTIVATED AND FIERCEST SOLDIERS THAT THERE GENERATION AND NATIONS PRODUCED. SEND THEM TO CENTRAL ITALY, ANZIOBEACH, AND SOUTHERN FRANCE WHERE THEY SLAUGHTER FIFTEEN TO TWENTY THOUSAND GERMANS. MORE THAN SIXTY YEARS PASS BY AND THEN THESE SAME FIFTY COMMANDOS INVITE YOU INTO THERE HOMES AND TELL YOU ABOUT THE FUNNY, SAD, AND ASTOUNDING THINGS THAT HAPPENED TO THEM IN COMBAT. THAT IS WHAT THIS BOOK IS ALL ABOUT.

Mr. Springer may have been initially motivated by the desire to honor his uncle (killed serving with the First Special Service Force) but his work honors all who served in that unit. One seldom sees an oral history which tells the story of a unit so well. All the contributions by unit members tell the story without the distractions often found in other compilations. Always engaging, you just don't want to put the book down. Not only does one learn about the unit and individuals who made up that unit but one also learns about the equipment used, how it was acquired, and the soldiers' opinions of its performance. An amazing amount of information presented in a way that also entertains and honors the men who served.

Interesting, detailed story. Typical Kertzer. A must read for students of Italian, Church and/or Jewish history.

We are accustomed to viewing excellent documentaries on the TV and the big screen. It is nice to find a literary documentary just as enjoyable. The mid 19th century was an incredible time for change. Europe was adjusting to the post Napoleonic ideals of political and religious freedom. The United States was fighting against the secular immorality of slavery. Prussia was building a military machine to dominate Europe. Italy was struggling with a unification which would require shedding the medieval yoke of the Catholic Church. In the midst of these changes a 6 year old Jewish boy , Edgardo Mortara, is kidnapped within the Papal States under orders of the Inquisition. The charge is that the boy has been secretly baptized. The baptism cannot be undone and therefore the boy cannot continue to live with his Jewish parents. Governments from around the world protest the kidnapping and Pope Pius IX responds with traditional dogma. This is a wonderful researched narrative which brings together themes which will be of interest to Christians, Jews and any reader curious about the changing role of the Roman Catholic Church in this period of European history.

The excellent DVD, "Secret Files of the Inquisition", (available from Amazon and Netflix) dramatizes part of this story and includes commentary by the author, David Kertzer.

Simply one of the most insightful books I have ever read. Thank you Mr. Kertzer for illuminating this fascinating event in our history.

Douglas Wood has already summarized and evaluated this book, justly praising its historical worth. I'd like to add a note about its shock value; in a moment of history when anti-semitism seems to be a joke in some people's minds, surely this is a book that might make the pain and folly of bigotry "real" in terms of a single family, and therefore accessible to readers who can't empathize with mass tragedy.
It's also quite a thrilling book to read, by the way, a better detective story by far than Dan Brown could manufacture.

A Jewish family's illiterate Catholic housekeeper sprinkles well-water over an infant child and furtively mumbles the baptismal sacrament. When the Inquisitor learns of the deed, he orders the kidnapping of the then six-year-old Jewish boy. This foul deed is almost certainly sanctioned by the highest levels of the Catholic hierarchy. The police forcibly remove the child from his family's Bologna home and swiftly transport him to the Church's House of Catechumens in Rome for reeducation. Despite all protests from the boy's family and the Jewish community and in the face of a destabilizing international uproar, the Holy Father refuses to yield. By holy grace, the boy has been miraculously saved and the Church keeps him, inculcates him in the Catholic Christian religion, and assiduously converts the boy.

The boy kidnapped in the name of religion? Edgardo Mortara. The Holy Father in question? Pope Pius IX. The year? 1858. That's right 1858, not 1458, not 1658, but smack dab in the middle of 19th century Europe.

Historian David Kertzer tells the complete tale in his excellent work, `The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara.' As Kertzer relates in the epilogue he learned to his surprise that there was no reliable work on this topic. Kertzer sets out to remedy this gap and succeeds by examining the episode in fine detail. Using detailed court and police investigation records, Kertzer explores numerous evidentiary questions such as whether the baptism took place at all, whether the proper conditions for a valid lay baptism existed, who put the girl up to it, and how did the Inquisition find out about it?

The story is told against the background of the movement to unify Italy under secular rule. And here is yet another surprise for the uninitiated reader, including this one: until 1861 the Pope was still the temporal ruler of a wide swath of the Italian peninsula (this rule continued on a lesser scale to 1870). The treatment of young Edgardo was one of the factors that helped build support across Italy and internationally for the Risorgimento or Italian reunification.

The episode also hastened Pius IX's evolution, shall we say, to reactionary beliefs. Pius IX not only made papal infallibility part of Church dogma, but he also issued his infamous Syllabus of Errors in 1864, a broad attack on rationalism, science, and religious freedom - really a frontal assault on the Enlightenment and most other signs of progress in the previous three centuries. If Kertzer's book does nothing more than direct his reader's attention to this astonishing document, he has succeeded in the historian's task.

Kertzer examines the trial of the Inquisitor in detail and the formidable difficulties facing the prosecution. For example, what crime did the Inquisitor commit when his acts were legal at the time he committed them? Would the new government prove willing to violate the fundamental principle that the accused must have had notice of the illegality of his acts?

As for Edgardo, he remained with the Church fathers until he reached his majority and by then his conversion had firmly taken hold. He went on to become a famed proselytizer for Catholicism especially among the Jewish peoples. This role may help explain why this story has remained untold: it embarrassed Jews and Catholics alike.

Some readers may find the detail devoted to the investigations and trials to be excessive, but bear in mind that Kertzer is writing the seminal history of Edgardo's kidnapping. A fascinating tale full of surprises, very highly recommended.